Reliever J.J. Putz can't hold a one-run lead for Johan Santana (below) as the Mets lose to the Marlins on Wednesday afternoon.

Jerry Manuel sent a clear message about which backup catcher he would prefer to keep when Brian Schneider returns from the disabled list. Of course, did it matter who served as first mate on the Titanic?

Late-game drama - and, no, that's not referring to the Mets loading the bases with two out in the ninth - worsened a wedge between Ramon Castro and his manager and the Mets wasted another solid performance by Johan Santana in a 4-3 home loss to Florida Wednesday.

But the Castro-Manuel soap opera was just one of many storylines Wednesday. David Wright was booed again at Citi Field after another dismal performance in the field and at the plate - the final insult a rally-killing strikeout (his 27th of the season) in the ninth.

And then there was the revamped bullpen failing for the second straight day, allowing the first-place Marlins to take two of three in a series the Mets could have swept.

Wednesday's bullpen culprit was J.J. Putz, who failed to protect a one-run lead inherited from Santana when the two runners he walked to start the eighth scored on Cody Ross' single.

The late-game meltdown dropped the Mets to 9-12 heading into a three-game series in Philadelphia that begins tomorrow, and ought to have looked familiar to Santana. Seven times last season he turned a lead over to the bullpen and came away with no-decisions, arguably denying the ace the Cy Young Award.

Wednesday's eventful ending: With the bases loaded and two out in the ninth, a delay ensued as the Mets scrambled to send a pinch-hitter to the plate for Castro. No, it wasn't slugger Carlos Delgado or Luis Castillo (both sidelined with injuries), instead, a stung and stunned Castro was replaced by recent call-up Omir Santos, who had 35 career at-bats on his résumé. Santos had been catching Bobby Parnell in the bullpen at the time. He scrambled down a corridor in his spikes, took six or seven practice swings en route, then popped out to shortstop.

Manuel reasoned that Santos was more equipped to face hard-throwing Marlins closer Matt Lindstrom than Castro because he has a shorter swing, which theoretically would allow him to catch up with the near-100 mph heat. One flaw in the logic: Castro had two hits off Marlins ace Josh Johnson, who started the game and fires fastballs at 95mph and higher. Another fault: What about maintaining any relationship with Castro for the rest of the season?

Castro generously said he was "a little bit" surprised. His body language and abrupt departure from the clubhouse conveyed his dismay.

Manuel clearly has no use for Castro, even though front-office officials insist they have no plans to trade or dump him when Schneider makes his expected return from the DL next week. Team officials have predicted that Santos will be optioned to the minors when Schneider comes back. Santos started four straight games before Manuel gave Castro the nod for Wednesday's matinee. "I thought Santos had a better shot," Manuel said.

Had the Mets' revamped bullpen not failed to deliver for the second straight game, this issue never would have boiled over Wednesday. A night earlier, Sean Green surrendered four seventh-inning runs in a 7-4 loss. This time, Putz (1-2) - another ex-Mariner - walked the first two Marlins he faced, Jorge Cantu and Jeremy Hermida. After a sacrifice bunt advanced both runners, Ross delivered a two-run single to center.

"This one falls pretty much on my shoulders," Putz said.

Santana was charged with two runs on five hits in seven innings while tossing 109 pitches.

Jeremy Reed, who had been inserted as a defensive substitute for Murphy in left field in the eighth Wednesday, tripled in the bottom half of the inning with two out. After a walk to Jose Reyes, Leo Nunez stranded the tying run at third by retiring Alex Cora on a groundout.

Wright, who appears truly lost at the plate, left five runners on base as his average with runners in scoring position dropped to .226.

In the ninth, Lindstrom walked pinch-hitter Gary Sheffield and Carlos Beltran to open the inning. Wright struck out looking, and one acquaintance of the third baseman wondered why Manuel didn't have him sacrifice bunt given his struggles. Ryan Church grounded out to first, Fernando Tatis was plunked by a pitch to load the bases and Santos then popped out to end it.

Tatis, in for Delgado while the first baseman nurses a cranky hip, had slugged a solo homer in the sixth off Johnson to give the Mets a 3-2 lead that they couldn't hold.

"It's still a long way to go," Santana said. "This is April. Of course, you've got to win every single game that you have a chance to win. In a game like today, you have to. But there are going to be times when you're going to struggle. ... You have to bounce back and get the next one. We're trying."